Easy Pecan Pie Bars

These bars are so yummy they fall into the gone-in-one-day class.

I usually make these for Thanksgiving instead of traditional Pecan Pie. The ratio of shortbread crust to filling and pecans is irresistible.

Tomorrow is the first day of no school due to the coronavirus pandemic. This afternoon, Monika asked me to make these bars. I think she's craving a little comfort food. We probably all are.

Easy Pecan Pie Bars

Ingredients

For crust
½ cup butter [1 stick], softened*
1½ cups flour
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

For filling
2 cups pecans, chopped

3 large eggs
1 cup sugar (white or brown)**
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter [½ stick], melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Coat a 9 x 13 baking sheet or glass pan with butter or cooking spray.

For crust: Beat butter with mixer. Add flour, sugar, and salt. Mix until crumbly. Press into pan. Bake crust for 7 minutes. Set aside.

For filling: Toast chopped pecans on baking sheet in oven for 8 minutes.

In small bowl, thoroughly whisk together eggs, sugar, syrup, vanilla, and salt. Whisk in melted butter. Stir in pecans with rubber spatula. Pour pecan mixture over pre-baked crust. Nudge pecans around as needed to ensure even spacing.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are firm and center of filling is set, but still jiggly.

Cool for at least one hour. Cut into small squares. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Notes

*I only use Land O'Lakes Butter – because it's the best butter for baking and because we're farmer-members of the cooperative, which means the milk from our farm is used to make Land O'Lakes butter and cheese.

If you have a food processor, you can make this recipe with cold butter, as well. Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the bowl of your food processor, fitted with a chopping blade. Pulse briefly to blend. Cut butter into pieces. With food processor running, drop butter into flour mixture. Process on high until mixture looks like beach sand. Press into pan and bake as directed.

**White sugar gives these bars a mild, buttery flavor. Brown sugar gives these bars a more caramel-like taste. I always use Crystal Sugar Dark Brown Sugar.

Recipe adapted from Pecan Pie from The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking.